Friday, July 15, 2005

Me Good at Math

Turns out I was a little off on my numbers for the tiled countertops. The only place I can find 3-inch hexagon tile is SubwayTile.com, or a local place that sells the same brand, Iron Gate by Meredith Tile.

These are awesome tiles without cushioned edges (so they're more like the originals), but they cost $19.20 per square foot. I estimate we have about 29 square feet of counterspace to cover, so that's $556.80 ... hmmm, not such a huge savings over the $900 granite as I thought.

I did find some 1.5-inch hexagon tile (with cushioned edges) at American Universal Corp., and it's only $7.95 per square foot. That would make a total of $230.55. Now that's more like it.

But are we willing to sacrifice the look we want - though I don't think 1.5 would be bad - and the non-cushioned edges for a savings of *clickety click on the calculator* ... $326.55?

Maybe. I wish I didn't have to worry about a measly-to-some $326.55. But we had to raid our house fund to pay for Darwin's $1,200 speeding mistake. Now we need to carefully consider every dollar.

But I have a question before we can decide. Would the cushioned edges make the tile easier or more difficult to clean? If it would be easier, I know my decision. If it would be more difficult, then we would have to decide whether easier to clean would be worth $326.55.

I've heard that the flat edges let the grout fill the spaces between tiles better or something like that ... like the tiles form a flatter surface. Is that true?

5 Comments:

The cushioned edges of my last tile counter is what drove me nuts. Crumbs and stuff would get caught on the edge because the grout was a good 1/8-inch lower than the tile, and then the tile had the edge. Have you tried American Restoration Tile. They are probably not going to be any cheaper, but its worth a shot.

Don't feel like you're alone. I'd wager that most of us don't have an unlimited amount of money to spend on these home repairs, I know we certainly don't, and that we carefully consider every dollar when looking at various materials. With all of our unexpected expenses in the past year, we are totally feeling your pain! Hang in there, whatever you choose will be great!-Formerly Anonymous Amanda